Vermont and a Livable Wage

Finally, it is possible to pay the entire state of Vermont a livable wage and pay for it. Some rather sharp changes will be necessary, but nothing that cannot be accomplished and all of it good for the community’s social structure.

We have this assessment which I’ll use as Colin Robinson toiled over it for some time:

…Colin Robinson, director of the Vermont Livable Wage Campaign, struggled to pinpoint an income level that made someone rich.
He ultimately reasoned that people earning four times the livable wage are “wealthy.” The livable wage for a family of four, with two wage earners, is $75,000 a year, he said. Vermont families earning more than $300,000 a year would amass large amounts of disposable income that could be used to buy luxuries such as expensive vehicles, lavish trips and vacation homes, Robinson said.

OK, we have a baseline for the livable wage and for the wealthy.
Family of four–$39.00/hr, DINKs–$25.00/hr, singles–$18.00/hr should be about right. No, it isn’t linear, there are baseline costs for electric, water rent, taxes, food phones and insurance that don’t change.

To pay the workers on the public payroll the city and state needs to get all of the recipients off welfare and on to the workforce at the livable wage. That’s more than they get on welfare, which is about $45,000.

The former welfare recipients can now afford to pay for their quotidian expenses including child care since they are making enough to cover these costs. Also, they can afford health insurance like the rest of the working class.

This frees up a large amount of revenue to cover some unexpected problems.

The first question asked will be what prevents storekeepers from either letting employees go or raising prices to cover the new wage levels. I’ll get to that in a moment. One issue is more pressing that needs addressing first.

I expect some capitalist pigs will attempt to close shop and depart leaving the program bereft of employers. The solution is an exit tax, so onerous that they won’t have money to fuel their vehicle to leave.

As to the shopkeepers that try to layoff employees or raise prices, simply, it is not permitted. A visit from the Commissioner of full employment and pricing corrects any misconceptions or errors in thought.

If one is going to set up a full blown command economy, why would one let any part be outside of one’s control. Besides, these capitalist store owners have been living the high life on the backs of the workers for ages; now it is time for them to work on the same level.

People pushing brooms and flipping burgers worked hard to get to where they are. Are you telling them they don’t deserve $18.00/hr?

Everyone gets the same benefits, since all can afford them now.

You’re laughing and smirking, saying there is no way to pay for this. Wrong, comrade for through the magic of confiscatory taxes, the state gets almost every dollar back. After all, the elite need to live well too. And they said Socialism can’t work.